Make an Aria

Make an Aria

Operatic commissions are few and far between. Hardly surprising perhaps, given the time and investment required to see a work through from concept to production. Of all musical forms, opera is probably the most complex and not all composers are suited to embarking on such a demanding undertaking. So how do you find out if you have what it takes to write an opera?

This was one of the reasons we launched Make an Aria back in 2008 – to give young composers the opportunity to experience a taste of what it is to tackle the art form and discover if it might have a place in their professional music career.

We bring them together with writers and dramatists to form composer/librettist partnerships and over a period of months provide support and advice to guide them through the complexities of writing an aria – the heart and soul of any opera.

Over the years we have run the scheme in Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford and Manchester. Each time, the project culminates with the arias being performed by professional singers at a public masterclass led by eminent composers such as Judith Weir, Nigel Osborne, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Harrison Birtwistle and most recently, Stuart MacRae.